


The Care and Feeding of a Judge

by Nanenna



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Blindfolds, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Judge Sans (Undertale), Multi, Pampering, Underfell Gaster/Underfell Grillby/Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underfell Grillby (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underfell W. D. Gaster (Undertale), W. D. Gaster Is Not Related to Papyrus and Sans, canon names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27903361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanenna/pseuds/Nanenna
Summary: A Judge is a lot like a dog, if it's not taken on regular walks and given mental stimulation it's likely to act out by chewing on furniture and destroying its home. Unfortunately for Sans that means the inside of his own mind. But with two doting boyfriends there to take care of him it's not so bad after all.
Relationships: Grillby/Sans (Undertale), W. D. Gaster/Grillby, W. D. Gaster/Grillby/Sans, W. D. Gaster/Sans
Comments: 13
Kudos: 61





	The Care and Feeding of a Judge

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Underfell](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/763542) by Vic the Underfella. 



> As always since this doesn’t deal with any other AUs rather than calling them Red, Fell, and Chillby I’m just sticking with their canon UT names.

Of the three of them Sans was usually the last one to roll out of bed in the morning, so him being alone in bed wasn’t that unusual. Him laying face down in the middle of the bed, his head not even on the pillows, was unusual. Sans had tried to get up but just couldn’t muster up the will. There was a heavy weight between his shoulder blades, right over his Soul. It laid heavy over him, pressing down his limbs and ribs until he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and whispered thoughts that were more ideas than words but he recognized all the same.

“Worthless, useless, failure, you have one job and you can’t even manage that right.” His sins were especially numerous on his back this morning, all of them crawling, skittering, and squirming over his bones in a sickening flurry. All too soon it’ll turn into the prick of sharp claws and the tickle of soft fur.

“Sans?”

Sans stiffened at the familiar, soft voice. The weight on Sans’s back turned in place, murmuring “T̼̙͎r̲̳a̦̙̖̩i̹̤̻t̫̪͎̙or,̖̯ ̲͖̻̩̥ͅt̰͍̩̜r̤ea͇̺̪s͇ͅo̜̙n̹͙̖͕̫…̹̗̜̜̺̹”

Sans turned his head slightly away, eye sockets squeezed tightly shut.

“Still In Bed?” Sans’s boyfriend continued, his voice drawing closer, “Grillby’s Finished Breakfast, If You Want Any You’ll Have To Get Up Soon.” A slight weight on the bed next to Sans, then the tingle of magic in the shape of a hand rested on his shoulder.

Sans cringed and curled inward, squeezing his eye sockets all the tighter.

“Oh, A Bad Day?”

Sans whimpered and nodded.

“Alright Then, Stay Here A Moment And I’ll Be Right Back.” A kiss, warm and vibrant with all the _loving_ intent pushed into it, was left on the back of Sans’s head, then both Gaster’s weight and the hand were gone.

Sans relaxed from his full body flinch, laying limp on the bed. He didn’t even bother to uncurl. He wished he could just go back to sleep. He wished he could fall asleep and never wake up.

Muffled footsteps approached, along with the smell of sulfur and a freshly cooked breakfast full of so much salt and grease Papyrus would throw three fits over it. The thought pulled a reluctant chuckle from Sans.

“Let Us See Your Face,” there were hands on him, many of them, too many to count, all gently turning him over. Sans kept his face averted, but by the time Gaster had rolled him over he was just facing the other way. Unfortunately that was where a light could be seen behind his eyelids, Sans squeezed his eye sockets so tightly his whole face must be a wrinkled mess. One hand was rubbing _soothing_ circles over Sans’s ribs and sternum while the rest moved to cradle and lift his head. “There We Are,” Gaster crooned in his raspy, broken voice. “Now Just Stay Still A Moment While I Slip This On…”

A familiar piece of fabric was slipped over Sans’s skull and down to rest over his eye sockets. Sans let his face relax as Gaster fussily adjusted the thin straps that kept it snugly fitted to his skull. Purely physical (a ghost that had found it in the dump had bartered it to them a while back), the eye mask was one of the few things that fully blocked Sans’s vision and would actually stay on his face for long periods of time without digging in or slipping around.

It left Sans in a darkness so complete even Waterfall didn’t compare. Sans wouldn’t say he was a fan, he didn’t find that absolute darkness comforting, honestly when they first tried the mask it made him anxious. But even back then it was still better than catching accidental glimpses of his boyfriends’ faces and have a roar of Judgment wash over him shouting so loud it left Sans’s skull ringing.

“The pillows are ready,” Grillby’s smokey voice came from somewhere above Sans’s head.

From inside Sans’s head came a hissed whisper, “Mu͇͓͉͇̲r͈͈̙̭̖de̜̪͔̬r̬̼̰̲e̮̺r͎̰̯̝͇͙.”

“Alright,” Gaster replied, “Sans We’re Going To Move You Up Now.”

Sans turned his face towards Gaster and nodded his consent. He relaxed as many ghost hands and a pair of very warm hands all descended on Sans then, cradling his skull and gently lifting his body to scoot him up to the head of the bed and sit mostly upright against the pillows piled up there. Sans couldn’t help cracking a crooked grin, “heh, many hands make light work.”

A pair of low chuckles greeted the pun. It was old and worn out, they were likely laughing more to humor Sans on a bad day than from actual humor, Sans appreciated the effort.

“Here We Are, Let’s Just Get You Tucked In,” Gaster murmured as he did indeed tuck Sans in. Sans liked the way Gaster talked about what he was doing as he did it, especially when he was at a disadvantage like at the moment. Sans wondered if that was what Gaster was like back when he was in his lab, gently murmuring to vials how exciting their trip in the centrifuge was going to be or for the CORE not to worry because it was being supplied with a constant feed of fresh ice.

“… and here’s breakfast,” Grillby added. A weight pressed into the bed on either side of Sans’s lap, the smell of salt and grease got stronger.

“eh, i could eat,” Sans tried to say as casually as possible while trying to keep from drooling all over himself like the mutts back in Snowdin.

“… we can just as easily eat without you.”

“Sans, Stop Teasing Grillby. Grillby, Stop Rising To His Obvious Bait.”

Grillby grumbled but Sans couldn’t help laughing.

There was the clink of cutlery. “Here,” Gaster roughly murmured, “Grillby Made Pancakes.”

Sans opened his mouth and let Gaster feed him a bite, even going so far as to summon a tongue and stick it out for the full effect. The bite of pancake was perfect! Warm and fluffy and dripping with syrup and butter.

Gaster gave a soft laugh, “He Likes It.”

“… I can see that.”

Something touched Sans’s foot, something warm that gently pinched his toes. “fuck you,” Sans said fondly.

“… perhaps later. For now we also have bacon, egg in a basket, and roasted potatoes.”

“ya kept the bread’s center, right?”

Grillby scoffed, “… of course I did! What do I look like? A barbarian?”

“ ~~L͕͕̤̠̟̺̦i͕̩̣͖̙͎̦k̭̣͕̘̠̜e a̟ͅ c͈̪̞̳͇ͅo͍l̬͕̥͕̩d̺̬̞̺̬ ͓̫̲̞̗h̖̮̳̻͎̱̥e̟͔̮̬͍̬̠a͖̩̟̳̞̮̟r͚t͇͇ͅe̪̫̜d̙͔͚̫̞͇̩ m͇͉̣̯̯ͅu̦̮͓̭͈̬ͅr̪͉d͎̟̲̤e͚͙͓͈͈̤re͔̝̤͕͚r̜.͈̞̯~~ ”

“can i get some toast dipped in yolk?”

Grillby scoffed again, but obliged. From his other side Sans heard more sounds of cutlery, which meant Gaster was eating as well. Whenever it came to eating in bed they had found it was easiest to pile everything onto one tray and just eat together, especially with Sans lounging against his decadent pillow throne like he was.

“Mmmm… This Bacon Is So Good.”

“… thank you,” Grillby said smugly.

“Here, Sans, Try Some.”

“gladly.” Sans opened his mouth and let Gaster feed him a bite of bacon. “mmmm…” Sans hummed appreciatively, “it really is good.”

“Very Crispy,” Gaster agreed, sounding like he was talking around a mouthful.

“… wait until you try the potatoes, I managed to get my hands on some paprika.” Something warm and smelling faintly of spices nudged against his teeth.

Sans bit down on it happily, his foot wriggling under the covers again. “damn, grillby, these might be the best potatoes i've ever had.”

They continued like that for a while, Gaster and Grillby alternating feeding him and themselves bites of food as they chatted idly about whatever they could think of, which was mostly how good Grillby’s cooking always was. Sans was fine with that, better than thinking about… other things.

“So Messy,” Gaster murmured as a thumb wiped along Sans’s jaw.

“that’s how ya know it’s good,” Sans joked back. “bad food doesn’t get shoved in like that.”

“… liar,” Grillby murmured from right next to Sans’s acoustic meatus. “… we all know you eat like a garbage disposal.” Several tongues of flame licked over Sans’s jaw and along the corner of his smile.

“yeah, but yous two like it or ya wouldn’t put up with it.”

Grillby lay his head on Sans’s shoulder and laughed while Gaster grumbled about Sans’s abuse of their poor language. Joke’s on him, the language was a raging dumpster fire long before Sans was even born, even the Judge was silent on his sins against grammar.

“Perhaps A Bath If We’re Done Eating.”

Grillby made a sound of disgust as he shifted away. “… ugh, a bath.”

“You Don’t Have To Join Us.”

“… and let you two idiots drown?”

“i don’t think either of us even can drown.”

“Theoretically It Might Be Possible, We Do Both Still Need To Breathe,” Gaster said thoughtfully.

“… you’re not allowed to test whether or not either of you can drown,” Grillby deadpanned. By then the clatter of dishes and silverware being moved around had stopped and the weight of the tray lifted from either side of Sans. “… I’m going to take care of these, you two stay out of trouble until I get back.” Grillby’s voice drifted further away, ending somewhere near the door to their room when he finished speaking.

“I’ll Keep Sans Safe,” Gaster promised.

“i make no promises for this loon,” Sans replied while gesturing towards Gaster, who had shifted to the edge of the bed.

“Come Along, You Can Have A Nice, Long, Relaxing Soak.” A few ghost hands manifested, pulled down the blankets, and gently touched Sans’s arms and shoulders to help guide him.

Sans groaned, but followed their prompting to half scoot, half crawl to the edge of the bed. “ya coulda made this easier on us both and picked me up.”

“No Prosthetic, Then?”

“nah, too much trouble.” The thought of going to all the trouble to strap on his replacement leg, stumble blindly into every piece of furniture, wall, and corner, go the incredibly short distance to the en suite bathroom, then have to sit down and take the darn thing off again was enough to make Sans shudder, it wasn’t worth whatever ridiculous pride or independence Sans thought he was preserving.

“Alright, I’m Picking You Up Now.” The hands guiding Sans were joined by many more, enough to cradle and support Sans as he was lifted up to press against Gaster’s body. Sans wound his arms around the gentle slope that was Gaster’s closest approximation to shoulders and snuggled his face into the vaguely crinkly fabric of his body. Gaster didn’t even sway as he moved, floating smoothly just above the floor, only the swish of his body an indicator of his movements.

“Here We Are,” Gaster murmured before setting Sans down on a convenient stool they kept in the bathroom ~~so Sans could reach the sink~~ for just such occasions. “I’m Starting The Water Now.”

“fine by me.” Several of the hands pulled away, though a few lingered. Sans enjoyed the gentle petting from the three caressing his face, but he was especially grateful for the one that slipped into his own hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Any Requests On Scents?”

“we got any a that lavender shit left?”

“Let Me See… Yes.”

“awesome, pour in that soothing shit. gonna get my relaxation on.”

Gaster chuckled, “Of Course.” The scent of lavender and roses filled the air along with the sound of rushing water and warm steam. A while later the sound of rushing water stopped. “Now Comes The Fun Part.”

“and here i thought the actual bath was the fun part,” Sans joked as the hands on him all moved around. Most of them moved down to where the hem of his shirt was bunched up around the top of his femurs, though a few snuck under to palm at his bones.

“That Too, But It’s Just As Much Fun To Unwrap Your Present As To Play With It.”

“well ain’t ya just the sweetest.” Sans’s chuckle was cut short as the hands started lifting up his shirt, the hands already under the shirt kept Sans from falling over when he shuddered at the feel of several hands skimming up his bones. Sans obligingly held his arms up so they could slowly pull the shirt over his head. There was the faint thwump of fabric landing nearby.

“Mmm… Delightful,” Gaster murmured as the hands all returned to tease Sans’s exposed bones. Which was all of them.

“… I have to agree, but why aren’t you two actually in your wretched bath yet?”

“I Was Having A Little Fun,” Gaster said defensively. “But Since You’re Here You Can Assist.”

Sans heard a clink of some kind of tray being put down on the sink area. That boded well, even if his mana reserves were already full from breakfast he wouldn’t mind more of Grillby’s delicious food.

“… get in and I’ll hand him to you.” That was all the warning he got before warm hands slipped under his arms and lifted him up, leaving Sans’s foot dangling. Sans would argue but this was actually the easiest way to get him in and out of the bath aside from, you know, the way he normally got in and out completely on his own on a regular basis.

Gaster’s hands took over, cradling Sans as he was slipped into the water to lay against Gaster’s chest, the suggestion of ghostly legs on either side of him. The hands all stayed, tracing along the spaces between his ribs or the edge of his iliac crests. The sensation was a little overwhelming, but a welcome distraction from the presence restlessly circling in place in his mind.

“… you both settled?”

“yeah,” Sans breathed out as he relaxed into the hot water.

“We’re Quite Comfortable,” Gaster reassured.

“… good, now close your eyes.”

Sans couldn’t help cocking his head in Grillby’s direction at the order, it clearly was aimed at Gaster because Sans’s eyes were already closed behind his mask. A warm hand pushed against Sans’s face until he was angled to stare unseeingly at the wall ahead of him, then small weight barely felt through the mask over first one eye socket, then the other. Sans couldn’t help his curiosity and poked at the thing. It was chilly, wet, and firm.

“Cucumbers?”

“… you want the full spa treatment or not? Close your eyes.”

Gaster chuckled, but he must have complied.

“… good. Now give me a hand.”

A moment of silence. Sans heard only the crackle of fire, the swishing of their bathwater, and a faint tink like something touching glass.

“What’s This?”

“… a glass, what’s it feel like?”

Gaster shifted behind Sans and breathed in, “Is This… Wine?”

“… yes, we’re having a spa day. What’s a spa day without wine?”

Grillby picked up Sans’s nearest arm out of the water. Sans enjoyed feeling the water left on his arm sizzling and evaporating as Grillby manipulated Sans’s hand to fit a large wine glass into his palm. Sans brought it up to his nasal cavity and took a whiff. “beer?”

“… with a lemon slice.”

Sans felt along the rim until he did indeed find a lemon slice, the sharp citric scent a nice contrast to the mellow floral scents of the steam.

“… now lay back, we’re relaxing.”

Sans obliged, happily leaning back into Gaster’s chest as he took a sip of his beer. There was more shuffling near Sans’s shoulder until eventually a warm spot settled there right on the edge of the tub, alongside the sound of something faintly sizzling.

“did you seriously put cucumber slices over your eyes?” Sans couldn’t help asking incredulously.

“… shush, I’m relaxing,” was Grillby’s only response.

Sans couldn’t help laughing then, carefully holding his beer over the side of the tub so it wouldn’t spill everywhere on accident. Eventually he managed to calm down and sink back into Gaster’s embrace. “we’re having a spa day.”

“… exactly, so no talking about work of any kind allowed. I know how you two are.”

“Fair Enough,” Gaster murmured, a couple of his hands holding Sans closer. “But You Do Know That Means No Discussing Cooking Either.”

Grillby grumbled, but conceded that it did count as work.

“shame, i suppose finally jury-rigging a way to get tv signals through counts as work.”

“… no, this I want to hear about. What channels can we get? How clear are they?”

Despite the fact this was more Gaster’s area, he let Sans talk about all the non-technical aspects. As Sans rambled on about how fuzzy the channels they could get were or weren’t he felt the Judge curl up in the back of his mind, sulking at being so thoroughly ignored. Perhaps today wouldn’t be such a bad day after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Is there backstory to this I’m not sharing? Yes. Do I plan on writing out the story some day? Absolutely! But not right now, too much going on. I just needed a fluff fix and this was what wanted to be written.
> 
> I had actually planned on writing a little more, but ran out of steam. Just know that after the bath Grillby insisted on drying Gaster completely off before letting him back in the bed and Sans laments not getting to see his boyfriends canoodling.


End file.
